阴
shade, female principle
At a glance · 阴
Evolution of the glyph
Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.
Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE
⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.
阴字小篆从阜侌声，为形声字；本义为山的北面、背光处，引申为阴暗、阴性。甲骨文未见。
What the sketch shows
Origins & notes
阴本义为山之北、水之南等背光处，引申为阴暗。
Structure
形声字，左部『阜』（阝）为意符表地势，右部『侌』为声符。
At a glance
Pinyinyīn
Radical阝
Strokes7
UnicodeU+9634
Character type形声
Theme天文
Six languages, one character
Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.
English
shade, female principle
Yin is a phonetic-semantic character meaning shade and the passive female cosmic principle.
Français
ombre, principe féminin
Yin est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant ombre et le principe féminin passif.
Español
sombra, principio femenino
Yin es un carácter fonosemántico que significa sombra y el principio femenino pasivo.
العربية
ظل، المبدأ الأنثوي
ين حرف صوتي دلالي يعني الظل والمبدأ الأنثوي السلبي.
Русский
тень, женское начало
Инь — фоносемантический знак, означающий тень и пассивное женское начало.
Common words
- 阴影yīn yǐngshadow
- 光阴guāng yīntime